Sunday, March 27, 2011

Lady killers


"Sucker Punch," a mostly female action-fantasy that's new in theaters this weekend, stars an up-and-comeras a gun-toting, sword-swinging killer with a deceptively sweet name. She dispatches zombies and robots with brutality, but she also wears a thigh-high skirt. Here's a look at 10 of the toughest lady killers ever to hit the big screen, from Western gunslingers to alien killers.
 
Skip ahead for our tributes to:
 

Emily Browning in 'Sucker Punch' (© Clay Enos/Warner Bros. Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)


In the gender-bending 1954 Western "Johnny Guitar," this silver-screen legend (see photos) wore the pants and packed the pistols, while co-star Sterling Haydenmostly strummed.

Joan Crawford in 'Johnny Guitar' (© SNAP/Rex Features)

As the leader of a girl gang in Russ Meyer's 1965 sexploitation classic, "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!," this black-haired powerhouse (see photos) kills a man with her bare hands.

Tura Satana in 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!' (© Everett Collection/Rex Features )
As Ripley in 1979's "Alien" (see photos), she turned a distressed-damsel role into a tough-as-nails character who survived through three more films (what's the latest one?).

Sigourney Weaver in 'Alien 3' (© 20th Century Fox/Everett/Rex Features)


This star of a baseball movie classic (see photos) played the title role in 1995's "Tank Girl," the negatively reviewed adaptation of the sci-fi comic books. Perhaps it was ahead of its time.

Lori Petty in 'Tank Girl' (© Everett Collection/Rex Features)

This legendary actor's granddaughter (see photos) starred as a deceptively pretty assassin in 1993's "Point of No Return," though Luc Besson's original 1990 French version, "Nikita," remains a landmark among action chick flicks.

Bridget Fonda in 'Point of No Return' (© Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection)

The cat-eyed actress (see photos) has helped make the pulpy "Resident Evil" franchise, based on a video game, a dependable seller at the box office since 2002.
Milla Jovovich in 'Resident Evil' (© WENN)

Her otherworldly beauty (see photos) made her an odd but surprisingly effective choice in Quentin Tarantino's ultraviolent "Kill Bill" movies.

Uma Thurman in 'Kill Bill' (© Miramax/Supplied by WENN)

In 2009's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," the Swedish actress originated the role of
goth-punk bisexual sleuth Lisbeth Salander (see photos), the heroine in a best-selling trilogy (buy the books). Fans are waiting to see if Rooney Mara can fill her boots in the upcoming American version (who will be her co-star?).
Noomi Rapace in 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' (© Everett Collection/Rex Features)

In last year's "Kick-Ass," this sassy young actress (see photos) played the 11-year-old superhero Hit Girl, racking up a sky-high body count and cursing a blue streak.

Chloe Moretz in 'Kick-Ass' (© Lions Gate/Everett/Rex Features)

One of the few widely successful female action stars, Jolie (see photos) recently took the lead in the CIA thriller "Salt," a role originally written for a man. Her "Lara Croft" franchise is set for a relaunch; her replacement has not been announced.
Angelina Jolie in 'Salt' (© Columbia Pictures/Everett/Rex Features)










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